Jay Harris (boxer)

Jay Harris (born 25 August 1990) is a Welsh professional boxer who has held the Commonwealth flyweight title since 2017 and the European flyweight title since 2019.

Jay Harris
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
NationalityWelsh
Born (1990-08-25) 25 August 1990
Swansea, Wales
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record[1]
Total fights18
Wins17
Wins by KO9
Losses1

Early life

Harris was born on 25 August 1990 in Swansea, growing up in the Townhill area of the city.[2] He is the son of former British featherweight champion, Peter Harris, who is also his trainer. Harris began boxing at the age of 12 after going to the gym with a friend.[3] Alongside boxing, he works part-time at Amazon.[4]

Professional career

Harris made his professional debut on 27 July 2013 at the Newport Centre, Wales, scoring a four-round points decision (PTS) victory over Brett Fidoe.[5]

After compiling a record of 9–0 (6 KO), he challenged Thomas Essomba for the Commonwealth flyweight title on 24 February 2017 at the York Hall, London. The fight was televised live on BoxNation, with Harris winning via unanimous decision (UD) over twelve rounds. The judges' scorecards read 117–112, 116–113 and 115–114.[6] Following three more wins, one by knockout (KO), he made the first defence of his Commonwealth title against Ross Murray on 3 November 2018 at the York Hall. Harris successfully retained his title with a third-round technical knockout (TKO).[7]

After a six round PTS win over Brett Fidoe in March 2019, he next fought former world title challenger Angel Moreno on 1 June at the Vale Sports Arena in Cardiff, with the vacant European flyweight title on the line. All three judges scored the bout in favour of Harris, with the scorecards reading 120–108, 119–109 and 117–111, awarding Harris the European title via UD.[8]

Four months later, he faced two-time Olympic bronze medalist and former world title challenger Paddy Barnes on 11 October at the Ulster Hall, Belfast, for the vacant IBF Inter-Continental flyweight title. The fight was streamed live on ESPN+ in the United States and globally through YouTube channel iFL TV,[9] with Harris capturing his third professional title with a fourth-round KO. Harris, being the bigger of the two, used the height and reach difference to his advantage, boxing at range with sharp jabs and straight right hands. In the final 60 seconds of round one, Harris landed a straight right hand to stun Barnes and send the former three-time Olympian reeling into the ropes. After a follow up attack by Harris, Barnes fired back with a rapid ten punch combination, all of which were taken on the gloves by Harris. Round two saw much of the same, Harris staying at range, continuing to land jabs and straight right hands to the head with Barnes having little success. The third was an action packed round. With Harris electing to fight at close quarters, Barnes began finding the target with hooks to the head and body, opening a cut above Harris' right eye. In the final minute of the round, Harris landed a left hook to the body that dropped Barnes to undo the Irishman's previous success. He raised to his feet before the referee's count of ten to see out the remainder of the round. The end came in the round four. With Harris going back to fighting at range, Barnes took punishment throughout, finally being dropped with a left hook to the midsection. Unable to beat the count of ten, the fight was stopped with 48 seconds remaining.[10][11]

Professional boxing record
Professional record summary
18 fights 17 wins 1 loss
By knockout 9 0
By decision 8 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
18 Loss 17–1 Julio Cesar Martinez UD 12 29 Feb 2020 The Ford Center at The Star, Frisco, Texas, US For WBC flyweight title
17 Win 17–0 Paddy Barnes KO 4 (10), 2:14 11 Oct 2019 Ulster Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland Won vacant IBF Inter-Continental flyweight title
16 Win 16–0 Angel Moreno UD 12 1 Jun 2019 Vale Sports Arena, Cardiff, Wales Won vacant European flyweight title
15 Win 15–0 Brett Fidoe PTS 6 1 Mar 2019 Vale Sports Arena, Cardiff, Wales
14 Win 14–0 Ross Murray TKO 3 (12), 2:48 3 Nov 2018 York Hall, London, England Retained Commonwealth flyweight title
13 Win 13–0 Cristian Narvaez PTS 6 11 Aug 2018 Llandarcy Academy of Sport, Neath, Wales
12 Win 12–0 Gyula Dodu KO 2 (8), 0:29 13 Nov 2017 Hilton Hotel, London, England
11 Win 11–0 Michael Barnor PTS 6 22 Jul 2017 LC2, Swansea, Wales
10 Win 10–0 Thomas Essomba UD 12 24 Feb 2017 York Hall, London, England Won Commonwealth flyweight title
9 Win 9–0 Phil Smith TKO 4 (6), 2:04 26 Nov 2016 Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, Wales
8 Win 8–0 Ramesh Ahmadi KO 3 (8), 0:55 16 Jul 2016 Ice Arena Wales, Cardiff, Wales
7 Win 7–0 David Koos TKO 3 (6) 23 Nov 2015 Hilton Hotel, London, England
6 Win 6–0 Tibor Nadori KO 1 (6), 1:35 17 Jul 2015 York Hall, London, England
5 Win 5–0 Stefan Slavchev TKO 3 (6), 2:29 14 Feb 2015 Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, England
4 Win 4–0 Francis Croes KO 4 (6), 1:33 27 Oct 2014 Royal Lancaster Hotel, London, England
3 Win 3–0 Ricky Leach PTS 4 1 Aug 2014 Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, England
2 Win 2–0 Gary Reeve PTS 4 29 Mar 2014 Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, England
1 Win 1–0 Brett Fidoe PTS 4 27 Jul 2013 Newport Centre, Newport, Wales
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References
  1. "Boxing record for Jay Harris". BoxRec.
  2. "SWANSEA'S JAY HARRIS EYES WORLD TITLE FIGHT -". 7daysport.co.uk. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  3. "'Whatever it takes to win': Jay Harris interview". Boxing Monthly. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  4. "Jay Harris Interview". Big Write Hook. 12 April 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  5. "BoxRec: Jay Harris vs. Brett Fidoe". boxrec.com. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  6. Foster, Elliot (24 February 2017). "Jay Harris Outpoints Essomba, Wins Commonwealth Gold". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  7. "Jay Harris battles Angelo Moreno for European belt on ESPN+". World Boxing News. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  8. "Jay Harris: Welsh boxer beats Angel Moreno to claim vacant EBU flyweight title". BBC. 2 June 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  9. Mitchelmore, Ian (12 October 2019). "Jay Harris secures impressive victory over Paddy Barnes in Belfast". walesonline. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  10. Christ, Scott (11 October 2019). "Jay Harris knocks out Paddy Barnes in fourth round". www.badlefthook.com. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  11. Donovan, Jake (11 October 2019). "Jay Harris Blasts Out Paddy Barnes in Four Rounds". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Preceded by
Thomas Essomba		 Commonwealth flyweight champion
24 February 2017 – present		 Incumbent
Vacant
Title last held by
Vincent Legrand		 European flyweight champion
1 June 2019 – present
Vacant
Title last held by
Andrew Selby		 IBF Inter-Continental flyweight champion
11 October 2019 – present


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